Politics is more than a popularity contest. It is a public relations campaign to make one person look better than the other. The job of the campaign is to win, but in order to do that, the candidate needs to show why they are better. Bobby Pulido, who is running for Texas’s 15th Congressional District, is giving a masterclass on how to balance presenting who a candidate is and how the constituents would benefit.

Bobby Pulido is running for Texas’s 15th Congressional District

Bobby Pulido is best known as a Latin Grammy-winning Tejano singer. The musician has been creating music for more than 30 years, releasing his first album “Desvelado” in 1995. Over the decades, he has become a musical icon with several awards and nominations. In 2025, he announced a farewell tour and retired from music. Then, he got involved in politics.

He entered the race for Texas’s 15th Congressional District the same year. The district he is seeking to represent is a thin district that runs from just northeast of San Antonio and down to the southern border. Currently, the district is represented by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican. Historically, the district has been purple, voting in the past for Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke in 2018 and Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.

This does give the impression that the district can be flipped for the Democrats. And Pulido is running a campaign and public relations strategy that people should study when it comes to connecting with constituents.

The candidate is taking public relations to a new level of cultural relevance

@friasjc

Monica de la Cruz you are not invited to the quinceañera. South Texas voters in TX 15 keep asking where their congresswoman has been while families across the Rio Grande Valley demand answers. I watched Monica de la Cruz rush to post a video attacking Bobby Pulido while constituents were asking why their representative has not shown up. Instead of being present in the Rio Grande Valley she was in Corpus Christi introducing Donald Trump and proudly highlighting his endorsement 🇺🇸 That tells people where the focus is. Voters across South Texas are watching closely and many are frustrated with the policies she has supported alongside the Trump administration 😬 Look at the primary numbers. Hidalgo County had some of the highest turnout in the state and Democratic voters outnumbered Republicans across much of the Rio Grande Valley 📊 People are paying attention and they are organizing 📣 The message is clear in South Texas. Voters are fed up and they are ready to hold leaders accountable at the ballot box 🗳️ 📹 Content is shared for news, awareness, and educational purposes only. 💕 This page does not promote or condone dangerous acts, violence, hate, harassment, or bullying.

♬ original sound – Jc Frias

Rep. De La Cruz sparked backlash when she made a campaign video saying that the race isn’t about who you want performing at a quinceañera. The comment made some people feel like Rep. De La Cruz was looking down at the cultural event. Quinceañeras are a special moment in the lives of teenage girls and Latino families.

Bobby Pulido saw a chance to capitalize on his opponent’s gaffe. He leaned into a moment to celebrate the culture of his constituents. Instead of running from the attempted insult, Pulido is celebrating it. He made “Make Quinceañeras Great Again” hats to remind people of Rep. De La Cruz’s comments.

Furthermore, Pulido received thousands of invitations to attend and perform for quinceañera parties. Being a man of the people, Pulido not only responded but has performed at quinceañera parties across the district.

He is also meeting his constituents in a different way. Instead of holding town halls in auditoriums, he hosts “ranch halls.” This means that he is meeting his constituents in backyards with barbecues and low-stakes environments. This not only acknowledges the community and culture, but it also makes him relatable.

He is running a campaign geared toward his constituents

He is also running a race on his beliefs, even when they differ from the national Democratic Party. In a bid to appeal to Latino voters who shifted right in 2024, Pulido is running a race that is “people over party.” This allows him the chance to run on the issues that are impacting his community, instead of aligning with a national platform.

For example, Pulido has stated that he personally opposes abortions. However, he is against Texas’s near-total ban and believes that women should be allowed to make their own choice. Additionally, he is moderate on immigration. On his platform, he addresses immigration, a very sensitive subject. According to him, he wants “common sense” solutions to immigration that include both securing the border and fixing the legal pathways to citizenship.

Overall, Pulido is an example of what it looks like to run in your district for your constituents. Latino voters aren’t the same, and culture wars do bleed into Latino family conversations. Latinos tend to be more religious and conservative than the image of the national Democratic Party. Due to that nuanced approach, Pulido isn’t catering to the fictional Latino monolith. He is seeing the Latino voters as people and meeting them at their level, with their concerns.

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